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Rising costs, fuel pressures and the squeezed middle

Reader argues dissatisfaction pre-dated middle-class political impact, with working mothers raising concerns earlier

Letters to the Editor. Illustration: Paul Scott
The Irish Times - Letters to the Editor.
Sat May 09 2026 - 06:00

Sir, – Justine McCarthy’s article today argues that it was the emergent dissatisfaction of the squeezed-out middle class that finally brought the country to a standstill (“Ireland enters its own transitional phase. Call it callous populism,” May 8th).

However, as one of my nieces noted (a working mother with two children), women had complained about the rising cost of living for months, but it was not until the cost of diesel went up and men felt this cost in their pockets that we experienced this gendered blockade, which brought the country to a standstill. – Yours, etc,

Evelyn Mahon FTCD,

School of Social Work and Social Policy,

RM Block

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[ Ireland’s squeezed-out middle has had enough ]